By H.G. Peters, Oenophile and Pringophile
Wine and Pringles are two of life’s great culinary pleasures, and finding the perfect match can be a delicious endeavour. There are many factors to consider in pairing a wine with a Pringles. Regarding the wine, you’ll want to take stock of acidity, tannins and fruitiness, whereas with the Pringles you’ll want to be thinking about its Xtremety of flavour, quality of dextrose, and how much it tastes like a fast food item. I encourage you to conduct your own experiments to make your own discoveries in the vast world of complimentary wine and Pringles flavours, but here are a few classic pairings to get you started.
Pinot Noir and Buffalo Ranch
With its low tannins and floral aromas, the delicate pinot noir goes together surprisingly well with the delightfully tongue-searing Buffalo Ranch flavour, which itself is a combination of the Xtra Xtreme heat Buffalo wing sauce and America’s most popular salad dressing. I highly recommend letting the Buffalo Ranch pringle dissolve on your tongue before having a sip of wine. Of course, this can take several days, but it’s worth it!
Riesling and B-B-Q
The flowery, perfumed aromas of the Riesling are the perfect foil to the charred and gritty elements of a B-B-Q Pringle (don’t call it a barbecue Pringle, unless you want to embarrass yourself at a Pringle tasting!) The Rhine region of Germany and the BBQ Pringle factory in Jackson, Tennessee have similar terroirs, and you can genuinely taste the co-mingling of these sister soils in the back of your throat.
Chardonnay and Screamin’ Dill Pickle
Screamin’ Dill: a chip with such a delightful aftertaste that you can still savour it months after you’ve eaten it. Similarly, with its high acidity and oaky flavour, it’s only a matter of time before Chardonnays become known as “Screamin’ Chardonnays.” It’s only natural to pair these together, and may I suggest indulging on a patio at sunset overlooking a vineyard or potato mulching glen?
Cabernet Sauvignon and Pizza
Cabernet Sauvignon has extremely deep, complex flavours that take multiple tastings to fully comprehend the nuance of, and Pizza Pringles taste like Pizza. Need we say more?
Once you’ve popped open the world of wines and hyperbolic paraboloid-shaped chips, it can be hard to stop. Many like to go further, and delve into the many flavours of pringles mostly unavailable in a standard Canadian Pringle cellar. There are hard-to-find vintage flavours like Pumpkin Pie Spice and Corn, or you can explore exotic foreign canisters like Wasabi (UK) and Blueberry/Hazelnut (Japan).
Pringle and wine pairing is the kind of expertise that comes in handy at book club, an academic luncheon or even a work party. The look on your boss’s face when you recommend just the right wine to go with Loaded Baked Potato will say “I severely misjudged this employee!” There is seemingly infinite number of combinations of wines and uniformly shaped potato chips, and I hope your alcohol-soaked journey into the world’s classiest cardboard tube of flavour is just beginning.
